IOWA COUNTY, Iowa — Seventeen years after an Iowa woman disappeared, the trial of her alleged killer is underway.

Cora Okonski, 23, was reported missing in April of 2000 after she reportedly left her house on foot to buy a pack of cigarettes and never returned. That is the story Okonski’s her boyfriend, Tait Purk, told police.

Cora Okonski was reported missing in 2000 (WHO-HD)

Now, Purk is on trial for Okonski’s murder. Authorities say new interviews led them to arrest Purk last December.